How Sh540m textbook money was minted at Education Ministry

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu before the Senate's CPAC committee on March 4th, 2025. (Elvis Ogina, Standard)

Taxpayers may have lost Sh540.62 million as a result of a skewed textbook distribution by the Ministry of Education to the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD).

A special audit by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has exposed the mismanagement of the multi-million-shilling project.

It is emerging that there were discrepancies in the number of textbooks disbursed by the Ministry of Education and those received by KICD, as well as excess textbooks distributed to public schools by KICD, non-distribution of textbooks to some schools, while others received textbooks for subjects they were not offering.

Gathungu, in the report tabled before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, flagged weaknesses in the disbursement of textbook capitation by the State Department of Basic Education (SDBE), detailing that for the four financial years from 2020 to 2024, SDBE disbursed an amount of Sh27.9 billion to KICD, while it confirmed receipt of Sh28.2 billion, resulting in an unexplained variance of Sh378.02 million.

Notably, the State Department retains and disburses textbook capitation to KICD, which then procures and distributes the textbooks to schools.

“The SDBE did not disclose or provide the criteria used in transferring the textbook capitation funds to KICD.

‘‘The rate per learner for the textbooks was also not disclosed.

‘‘Further, KICD did not include procurement of textbooks in its procurement plan,” reads the report in part.

The audit also highlighted that there were excess textbooks valued at Sh90.8 million supplied to 394 secondary schools, 94 junior secondary schools, and 182 primary schools.

The variance resulted from a comparison between the number of learners enrolled in the respective schools and the books distributed.

When Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) mathematics specialist Joshua Kilundo consulted Catherine Kiyiapi of the Teachers Service Commission during a session convened to make the newly published curriculum textbooks more suitable for children with special needs. [File, Standard]

“At the same time, textbooks worth Sh41.4 million were not delivered to 183 secondary schools, 233 junior secondary schools, and 253 primary schools. “Comparison of textbooks delivered to schools, as indicated in signed delivery notes, with numbers indicated in the distribution lists provided by KICD established that there were publishers that delivered fewer textbooks,” said Gathungu.

Interestingly, there were also schools that received textbooks valued at Sh30.3 million for subjects they were not teaching.

They included 118 secondary schools, 225 Junior Secondary Schools, and 26 primary schools.

At the same time, a further audit of the process disclosed that there was a shortfall in the number of textbooks delivered to 415 secondary schools, 194 junior secondary schools, and 245 primary schools compared to the number of learners enrolled.

The total value of the shortfall in textbooks supplied to the schools amounted to Sh295.6 million.

The special audit also established that there were 26 order numbers to secondary schools, 29 to junior secondary schools, and 21 to primary schools under which some textbooks were delivered late.

The delays, Gathungu noted, ranged between three months and 37 months.

“There were also 110 schools that did not maintain records of textbooks, teachers’ guides, and other instructional materials delivered,” added the report.